Nail-driving toy



Oct. 6, 1925.

H. W. LARSON NAIL DRIVING TOY Filed Feb, 11. 1924 INI , wue'noz: n V1 W.LARSON',

Patented Get. 6, 1925.

UNITED STATES HARRY W. LARSON, 0F PINGREE, NORTH DAKOTA.

NAIL-DRIVING TOY.

Application led February 11, 1924. Serial No. 692,099.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HARRY W. LARSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pingree, in the county of Stutsman and State of NorthDakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nail-Driving Toys, of which the following is a specification, reference beinghad therein to the accompanying drawing.

The present invention relates to toys, and aims to provide a novel andamusing toy for children that are fond of driving nails.

An Object of the invention is'the provision of a nail driving toy havinga nail in a block or body7 that can be repeatedly driven into the blockor body by a hammer, so that the toy will last indefinitely, givingthechild a source of amusement.

Another object is the provision of such a device having spring means forprojecting the nail after it is driven into the body or block, for therepeated driving of the nail, without destroying or injuring the toy. l

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be apparent asthe description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction andarrangement of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed, it beingunderstood that changes can be made within the scope of what is claimed,without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing', wherein-Figure 1 is a perspective view of the toy.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section thereof, por- Mtions being shown inelevation.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a more improved construction.

1n carrying out the invention, there is provided a block or body 7 ofwood or other suitable material, composed of the upper and lowersections 8 and 9, respectively, which have the vertical alining holes 10and 11 in which the nail 12 is slidable snugly. Said nail normallyprojects above the block 7 and has the usual head 13 at its upper end tobe struck by a hammer or other driving implement. The block 7 has arecess 14 between the openings 10 and 11 in which a coiled spring 15 isdisposed, said spring being confined between a collar 16 soldered orotherwise secured to the nail 12 and a washer 17 seating on the bottomof the recess 14. The nail 12 is slidable through the washer 17 and thecollar 16 is movable in the recess 14, whereby when the nail is drivendown the spring 15 is compressed, so as to project the nail upwardlyafter it is driven down into the block.

The parts are readily assembled when the sections 8 and 9 are detached,and after the nail is inserted in the section 8 and the collar 16secured to the nail, the spring 15 and washer 17 are put in place, andthe sections 8 and 9 are then secured together by nails or othersecuring elements, so that the spring is protected within the block. Thenail can be driven into the block any number of times without injuringor destroying the device, and the toy will last indefinitely.

In Fig. 3 there is shown a further inrprovement, means being providedfor preventing the nail 12 being raised b-y the spring until the nail iscompletely driven down. Thus, the nail can be driven down by severalblowsy of the hammer each moving the nail down part way, and the nail isnot projected or raised until itis driven down the full amount. Thejblock or body 7 is composed of the upper and lower sections 8 and 9,respectively, having?.` the apertures 10 and 11. The nail 12 is slidablein the aperture 10 and has a head 18 at its upper end, and the section 8has the lower recess 14 while the section 9 has the upper recess 14. Thecoiled spring 15 is disposed in the recess 14 between the collar 16secured to the nail 12 and a cap-shaped member 17 tted in the recess14', whereby the spring 15 will raise the nail when the nail is releasedfor upward movement. The nail 12 has a collar or enlargement 18 at itslower end slidable in the hole 11, to assist in guiding the nail forvertical movement. The collar 16', like the collar 16 of the iirst form,limits the upward movement of the nail and prevents the nail beingwithdrawn, said collar seating against the upper end of the recess 14.

The meansfor holding thenail down until it reaches its lowermostposition, comprises a gripping or binding do 19 mounted for oscillatorymovement wit in the 'member 17, one end of the dog 19 being seated inthe recess or notch 20 with which the rim of the member 17 is provided.The dog 19 has an aperture 21 through which the nail 12 extends, andwhen the dog 19 is swung upwardly, the edges of the aperture 21 bind orgrip the nail 12, to prevent the upward movement of said nail. A coiledspring 22 iS Confined btween the Jr`ree end of the dog 19 and the sideof the member 17 opposite to the notch 20. The spring has its endssuitably engaged with the dog 19 and rim ot the member 17. As shown, oneend ot' the spring 22 has an eye or loop engaging through an aperture inthe dog 19, and the other end of the spring engages an instruck portion23 of the rim of the member 17. The dog 19 and spring 22 are movableupwardly and downwardly beyond a neutral or intermediate position,whereby the spring 22 will swing the dog upwardly, when above theintermediate position, and will swing the dog downwardly when below suchintermediate position. f

The aperture 24 oi' the member 17 through which the nail 12 extends islarger than the nail to permit a collar 25 on the nail to pass downthrough said aperture to contact with the dog` 19 when the nail isdriven down the full distance. The collar 18 ISISl engages'the dog trombelow when the nail is raised to its highest position, and the collars18 and 25 operate the dog 19 automatically, as will presently appear.

l/Vhen the nail 12 is driven down, the dog 19 when in raised position,will permit the nail to `move downwardly, but the dog 19 being swungupwardly by the spring 22 will bind or grip the nail, thereby preventingthe nail from being raised. rl`he nail can thus be driven down byseveral blows oit the hammer, each moving the nail part way of its fullmovement, the same as when driving an actual nail into an object. Nhenthe nail is completely driven into the block or body 7, the collar orshoulder 25 contacts with the dog 19 and forcibly swings the dogdownwardly beyond intermediate or neutral posi tion, as seen in dottedlines in Fig. 3, and the spring Z2 will then swing the doe` downwardly.rllhis will release the l2 so that the spring 15 comes into play andprojects the nail upwardly until the collar 16 strikes the upper end otthe recess 14. At the same time, the collaror shoulderlt contacts withthe dog 19 from below and swings the dog upwardly beyond intermediateposition, so that t-he dog is again in position to grip the nail as thenail is driven down. In this way, the nail is held down, while beingdriven, until it reaches its lower most position, at which time the nailis released and restored to raised position, ready for anotheroperation. j With this construction, the spring 15 can be muchstrongerso that the nail has greater resistance to downward movementinto the block, requiring several blows to drive the nail completelyinto the block.

Inasmuch as the nail is retained in the block, it need not be held bythe fingers to be driven into place, so that there is no danger of thechild hitting its fingers by the hammer, and the toy is therefore safe,and will satisfy the desires of a child having an inclination to drivingnails.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In anail driving to-y, a block composed of sections secured together andhaving alining holes and a recess between the holes, a nail slidable insaid holes and projecting` -from one ot said sections to be driven intoj the block by a hammer, a collar secured on said nail within the recessto seat against one end ot the recess when the nail is projected, amember seated against the opposite end of the recess and through whichthe nail is slid- I able` and a coiled spring surrounding the nail insaid recess and confined between said collar and member, said spring andmember being removable -trom said recess when said sections areseparated.

2. In a nail driving toy, a block, a nail slidable in the block, springmeans for projecting the nail, and means for pre-venting the projectionof the nail until it is driven into the block to a predeterminedposition.

therein.

3. In a nail driving toy, a block, a nail slidable in the block, springmeans for projecting said nail, a dog to grip the nail and prevent theprojection thereof, and mea-ns i'or actuating said dog, to release andgrip the nail when the nail is driven into the bloclr and projected,respectively.

a. In a nail driving toy, a block, a nail slidable in the block, springmeans tor projecting said nail, a dog arranged in the blocli to gripsaid nail and prevent the projection thereof, spring means for movingsaid dog 'to gripping or releasing positions, a portion carried bythenail to contact with the dog and move it to releasing position when thenail is driven into the block, and a portion carried by the nail ltocontact with the dog and swing it to gripping position when the nail isprojected.

In' testimony whereof I hereunto atlix my signature.

HARRY lV. LARSON.

